Vardan Mamikonian was a 5th-century Armenian military commander and the head of the noble Mamikonian family. Serving as the hereditary supreme commander, or sparapet, he led a significant rebellion against the Sasanian Empire between 450 and 451. This uprising was a response to the Persian attempt to forcibly impose Zoroastrianism on the Armenian people. Vardan died during the Battle of Avarayr in 451, where he and many of his fellow nobles were defeated by the Sasanian forces.